Automatic switch for street-railways.



No. 646,766. Patented Apr. 3, |900.

l R. M. STEWART. AUTOMATIC SWITCH FOR STREET RAILWAYS.

' (Application med .my 22. 1899. (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

moll/WJ@ TME Noam: PETERS no. Puufmumo.. wAsm'mwN, riA al No. 646,766'.Patehted Apr. 3, |900.

R. M. STEWART. AUTOMATIC SWITCH FUR STREET RILWAYS.

(Aplicatio filed July 22, 1899.) (No M odel.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

u u L l ULI u Shame/1P UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT M. STEWART, OF JOHN STOWN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO GpA. SMITH,OF SAME PLACE.

AU'oMATm SWITCH FoR STREET-RAILWAYs.

srEcFIcATroiv forming part of Letters Patent No. 646,766, dated April s,19Go. Application filed July 22, 1899. Serial No. 724,806. (No modelJ ona bolt 24 in the bracket 25, secured lto the To @ZZ whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, ROBERT M. STEWART, a citizen of the United States,residing at Johnstown, in the county of Cambria and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inAutomatic Switches for Street and other Railways; and I do declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

The invention has relation to automatic switches for street andotherrailways; and the object is to provide a simple and reliable switchto be conveniently operated from the car. f

To this end the invention consists in certain features of constructionand combination of parts, which will be ,hereinafter fully described andclaimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of atrack and the front end of a car, showing my improved switch inoperation, the full lines showing the switchshifting mechanism in theinoperative position and the dotted lines showing said switchshiftingmechanism in the applied or operative position. Fig. 2 is atop plan viewof the switch and track.

In the drawings the same reference characters indicate the same parts ofthe invention.

1 represents the main track, and 2 the siding.

3 is the switch-rail pivoted on the stud 4, and 5 represents theswitch-lever fulcrumed on a stud 6, its shorter longitudinal arm 7 beingpivoted to the switch-rail 3 by a bolt 8, while its longer transversearm 9 extends to the middle of the main track, where it is pivoted toone end of a rod l0, connected to a lever 12, fulcrumed on a bolt 13 ashort distance below the level of the road-bed in the slot 15 in theplate 16. The upper end of this lever 12 projects through the slot 15 inthe plate 16, and a short dista-nce below its end 14 is pivoted one endof a rod 17, the opposite end of which is pivoted to the lower end of avertical lever 18, fulcrumed on a bolt 19, its free end 2O projectingthrough a slot 2l in the plate 22.

23 represents a bell-crank lever fulcrumed lower face of thecar-platform near the for-l ward end of the car. The horizontal arm ofthis bell-crank lever 23 extends forward under the platform, and thefront end of said horizontal -arm is connected to a treadle 26,projecting upwardly through a suitable opening in the car-platform. Aconnecting-rod 27 is pivoted at one end to the depending arm of thebell-crank lever 23, and the other end of saidrod 27 is connected to alug 28 on the lever 29, the latter being pivoted at its rear end to abracket 30, secured to the arm 31 of said bracket 25. The connecting-rod27 is encompassed by a spiral spring 32, one end of which spring restsagainst the lug 28, the

other end of said spiralspring 32 resting against the contiguous face ofthe bracket 30.

The free end of the lever 29 carries a frictionroller 33, and, as shownin dotted lines in Fig. 1, when the treadle 26 is pressed downward therollerv 33 will be thrown into the line of either of the slots 21 or 15to operate the switch-rail, as may be desired. If the roller bedepressed to cause it to come in contact with the upper end of the lever18, the switchrail will be thrown to the left, thus causing the lmovingcar to leave the main track and to be switched onto the side track. If,however, the roller 33 be depressed after the car has passed the lever18 and before it reaches the lever 12, then when the car reaches saidlever 12 it will force the upper end of said lever 12 forward, andconsequently the'switchrail will be thrown to the right, and the carwill continue its journey on the main track. It will of course beunderstood that various changes in the form, proportion, and the minordetails of construction may be resorted to without departing from theprinciple or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention. v

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed, and desired to besecured by Letters Patent, :is-

In an automatic switch for railways, the combination with the main trackand the side track connecting therewith; of the switchrail 3 pivoted onthe stud t located between the rails of the side track near its junctionwith said main track, of theswitch-lever 5 fulcrumed on a stud 6 locatedbetween the rails of the side track and the intersecting rail of saidmain track, the rod 10 connecting said switch-lever 5 with the lower endof the lever 12 beneath the slotted plate 16, the rod 17 connecting theupper end of said lever 12 to the lower end of the lever 18, said levers12 and 18 being both fulcrumed beneath the slotted plate 16 andprojecting into the slots 15 and 21 in said plate 16, and the carprovided with the bell-crank lever 23 fulcrumed on the bolt 24 in thebracket 25 secured to the forward end of said car, the lever 29 providedwith the friction-roller 33 at Vitnesses:

THos. CUMMINS, WM. A. FALSTICK.

